New Project Ransomes MG Crawler Restoration (With a Twist!

[mk85]

Now that the majority of the big, heavy work on my F-150 Lightning is finally done, and I'm actually getting some miles under its belt, I found myself doing what I probably shouldn't have been doing… browsing eBay for another project.

This time, though, I fancied something a little different.

I've been keeping an eye out for one of these little Ransomes crawlers for quite some time. There are a few fully restored, running examples about, but buying something that's already finished has never really appealed to me. For me, half the enjoyment is taking something that's a bit tired, stripping it down, figuring out how it all works and bringing it back to life.

And where's the fun in buying something that doesn't need fixing?

Anyway, this little Ransomes popped up on eBay at what I thought was a pretty reasonable price. It wasn't running, but from what I could establish, it didn't need a huge amount to get going again. A carburettor rebuild, a bit of attention to the timing and, believe it or not, a single wire for the magneto.

Famous last words, perhaps!

Mechanically, it seems to be a fairly straightforward little machine, which makes a refreshing change from working on the Lightning.

Now, as you can see from the photographs, the current red and blue colour scheme is giving me some serious Noddy vibes. I'm not entirely sure what the previous owner's inspiration was, but it's certainly colourful!

This is where my plans will probably upset a few of the purists.

I'm not particularly interested in restoring it to exactly how it left the factory. Don't get me wrong, I appreciate a beautifully restored, original machine, but I fancy putting my own stamp on this one.

The plan is to strip it down over the winter, sort out anything mechanical that needs attention, and give it a proper cosmetic restoration.

I'm thinking a lovely deep red coach enamel for the main bodywork, black wheels and running gear, with some polished brass and chrome details dotted around. Things like the controls, handles and fuel tank straps could look fantastic with a bit of attention.

Something that retains all the character of an old British crawler, but with a slightly more bespoke, almost vintage show-machine appearance.

I'm under no illusions that this will be to everyone's taste, particularly those who believe everything should be painted exactly as it was when it rolled out of the factory.

But that's the beauty of these little projects. It's my machine, I'm doing the work, and I might as well build something I genuinely like looking at.

Besides, after spending months lying underneath a supercharged American V8, the prospect of tinkering with a tiny old crawler over the winter sounds rather appealing.

So here we go again. Another eBay purchase, another collection of rusty bolts, and another project that will almost certainly take longer and cost more than originally planned.

What could possibly go wrong?

[mk85]

Collection day

[Jte3397]

mk85 said:

Collection day

Nice. I fancy either one of these or a small vineyard tractor like a Fiat myself. I have a small plot of land where it would be useful. Also considering a TE20 as there's plenty about but maybe a bit big. Will follow with interest.

Edited by Jte3397 on Sunday 18th October 23:37

[hidetheelephants]

Noddy and Big Ears go farming.

[LightweightLouisDanvers]

Are you on the Mig Welding Forum as well?
Someone on their has one of these.

[seefarr]

I have no idea what this is but I'm in.